


Tenderfoot

by whutjusthappend



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: ???? maybe, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Enemies to Lovers, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Humor, Listen... im gonna do this as painless as possible, M/M, Romance, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, With happy ending, but this will have a teeny bit of angst, coffee-shop, slight wongyu?? gyuwon???? minwoo?????? meanie, verkwan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24572266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whutjusthappend/pseuds/whutjusthappend
Summary: After seeing the exact same copy of his soulmark on the back of movie star Yoon Jeonghan, Mingyu told himself that he wanted absolutely nothing to do with him. The actor's a notorious playboy, infamous not only for his long list of lovers but also with the multitude of accounts detailing his foul personality. Yes, Yoon Jeonghan might have been possessing that absurdly nice smile, and yes, Mingyu's heart might have been fluttering a little bit whenever he sees him, but really, who in their right mind would like a snob like him?Certainly not Mingyu.A chaptered continuation of my supposedly one-shotyou're all i need to be with forevermore
Relationships: Boo Seungkwan/Chwe Hansol | Vernon, Kim Mingyu/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	Tenderfoot

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the link for the one-shot: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12370836
> 
> I recommend to read this first if you haven't yet.

Mingyu put the ramen cup against his lips and tilted his head, slurping down the soup and remaining bits of noodles down. He used the back of his other hand to wipe on the bit that spilled on the side of his chin before putting it down again and tossing it straight into the trash can behind him.

Chan stared at him from behind his phone screen, the disgusted look plastered on his face blending well on whatever edgy aesthetic he was going for. “Are you five? Wipe your face."

The other was a year younger than him and the authoritative tone in his voice really never fail to take a bruise on his ego. It was too tempting to retort back and establish his dominance as the hyung but he was still incredibly hungry and the snacks his brother brought were all too appetizing. So he decided to shut his mouth and instead fixed his gaze on the pile of food, pouting and patting his tummy to create a full effect.

The other rolled his eyes at him but thankfully pushed an untouched pastry towards him.

Mingyu was nothing but a starved college student running on too many instant ramen so he can’t help but groan in satisfaction when his teeth sank on the fresh crispy pastry easily, the sweet chocolate filling flooding his mouth. _Ahh... his mom really makes the best eclairs._

“You know,” Chan started, putting his phone down and finally giving his whole focus on him. “There's more of that at home.”

“Tempting but no, thanks!” he sing-songed happily.

“Ahh hyung!” Chan whined in irritation. “Just come back home! I'm tired of being mom's messenger. I know you’re still sulking but it’s obvious she wanted you back there. Do you think she would wake up early just to bake this if she didn’t know I’m gonna see you today?”

“And here I am, thinking you're here because you wanted to see your favorite hyung. Give it up. I’m not going back.”

Chan glared at him before grabbing his phone and proceeding to ignore him again. It’s not that he’s complaining but the quiet was a little weird. Usually when they meet up for lunch, the time would just be spent arguing over his run-away situation. Honestly he’s getting tired of this whole ordeal and it’s obvious that his brother was too. If he didn’t want to see how he was doing, he’d decline the invitation. He has more things to do, more work to do. He has a big body to feed after all.

He saw the stack of study materials waiting to be opened in front of Chan and decided that it’s best for him to go.

He stood up and gathered his things. He got his wallet out and got the only remaining bill there. “Here,” he said, sliding it on the table. “Don’t use your phone too much. Study too.” 

"I don’t need this,” Chan said, looking up at him like a petulant child. “I bet I have more allowance than you,” he bragged, tone full of spite. 

“Alright,” Mingyu said laughing as he ruffled the other’s hair. “I’m going.”

Before he could leave however, Chan called for him again.

“I talked to Seungkwan hyung. He said he has a job for you. Call him.”

Mingyu smiled, nodding at him.

* * *

“It’s very simple. You just have to go to the set and follow all our whims. Do anything we ask you, every errand, whatever or wherever we need help with… Also, say nothing. People there would like you better when you’re just _there.”_ Seungkwan’s loud voice blared from his phone. He cringed. It’s really a bad idea calling him in the morning.

“I thought this was an all-student cast and staff. Why must I sink myself just to satisfy all of you when we’re all just swimming in the same shitty hell of student loans.”

"Please," Seungkwan whined. “We’re already beat up and pushed down to eat dirt by our superiors inside the classroom. This is our first opportunity to do a film as a class. At least allow us to create an illusion that we’re real actors on a real set. Just this once. Please. To boost our morale that is…” There was a pause in which Mingyu heard the loud rumble of a blender. _God._ He's still doing that spinach shake scam he saw on the net.

“Oh well the film’s sponsored by the school and Pledis. So you can expect a large pay just for doing errands. Free food too.”

He still wasn’t sure how him acting like a servant to Seungkwan’s class equates to them feeling like they’re real actors on a set but Seungkwan sounded tired and almost begging and maybe they really needed that kind of validation. “What film is it again?”

“No title yet but I'm telling you it's going to be amazing." Seungkwan went on and on for a while, telling him everything about the project. Mingyu tried hard to keep himself awake. He wondered how one can say so much in the morning

“So no celebrities?”

“None! Listen, I did my best to sneak you in the list so don’t tell me that’s a dealbreaker.”

“No, no. That’s perfect. Would you be there?”

“Uhm, I will be but I’ll be handling the more important stuff. I can brief you in the morning but I may not be able to meet you throughout the day.”

“Good.”

“Hey!”

“I’m just kidding. Thank you Seungkwan. I really mean it.”

“Alright alright. I’m gonna go now. Make sure not to embarrass me. Bye!”  
  


After ending the call Mingyu got out of bed and did some stretchings. Somehow, the ache in his back seem to get worse and worse each day. He gazed at his pitiful single bed and wondered why they don’t make them longer.

Grabbing his toothbrush from the sink, he sat on the edge of his bed with his phone and opened Twitter. He searched for his name.

_Yoon Jeonghan._

It’s a routine now--monitoring him to see if there’s any update on the soulmate situation. As a certified expert on using blocking as a defense mechanism, Mingyu swore he’d ignore everything that has to do with the actor after that night in the ramen shop where he watched him reveal to the entire nation his mark together with the plea to his soulmate to see him. But it proved to be impossible. Everyday, the topic of soulmates and soulmarks would sneak into every discussion he’s in. Ignorance of each other’s soulmarks has been the ongoing trend now to give way to choice, but Yoon Jeonghah’s bold declaration somehow put a new meaning to finding partners. Suddenly, people turned sentimental. The romantics woke up. And the appeal of soulmates reached a new high again.

It was too noisy and too much pressure and the media did nothing but amplify the noise. Yoon Jeonghan was the definition of rich, famous, and beautiful. Mingyu knew that on the outside perspective, his call to his soulmate was the perfect modern version of a Cinderella story. A collective mission emerged as an end product of it all-- And that was to find the “lucky” person the actor is fated with.

But Mingyu wanted nothing to do with it. His intensive research of the actor has only given him a long list of reasons why he was someone he should avoid. He’s a notorious playboy with numerous accounts detailing his foul personality. Mingyu has done questionable things for money before and yes he might be a bitch for a little bit of spotlight but he believed that he has dignity and rational mind not to subject himself to that kind of chaos. God gave him a chance to avoid. And he must seize it.

Plus, he knew his heart and he knew who it really wants.

Still, there was no escape from it. And so it just seemed right to make sure that no one was onto him and that no fans had tracked him yet. No one has seen Mingyu’s mark before, even his parents. He wanted to be careful. He didn’t want to wake up one day with reporters banging on his door asking him what it likes to be the actor's Cinderella.

When he saw that there wasn’t any significant news, he grabbed his towel and went to the bathroom. He peeked at himself in the mirror.

_Ahh. Nice...Really handsome._

* * *

Errand boy 

Hearing it like that, it sounds kinda inferior to his previous title as the pretty campus boy next door barista. But the pay's decent and so he was quick to accept Seungkwan’s offer.

When he saw Seungkwan that morning, he was already going around the area like a bee distrubed from his hive. The other only got the chance to toss him a black tee before he was out and about again--talking to every staff there, coordinating things here and there. It was fascinating to see him like that. In his mind, Seungkwan has always been a struggle tweet personified so seeing him do his work seriously made his heart swell a little with bestfriend pride.

"Hey, you there!"

"Yes ma’am?"

"Can you go down the street and order these?" She said handing him a piece of paper with a list of food.

"Ahh are the packed meals not enough? There’s a whole lot more in the back room. I can go get them."

She gave out an amused scoff as if she found a thought funny. “You can try. But don’t come back running to me when you get scolded.”

So Mingyu went, braving the scorching heat to go to the chicken place down the street. He went back with a bag of chicken and fries which were pretty much the same as the food stored in the backroom for the staff--only that they’re much more expensive, and looked much more appetizing.

He was told to bring them to one of the rooms set up for the artists. He ended up in the biggest, farthest one from the set. Peeking inside he saw two men lounging around. Upon seeing who they were, his feet immediately turned around like they had minds of their own.

He swallowed hard, feeling like his Adam's apple’s going down with it. He recognized both of them. One was Seungkwan’s classmate and he’s seen him act in one of the scenes filmed earlier. While the other one was all too familiar, a person he’s seen in the thousands of twitter photos and articles

_Yoon Jeonghan._

Fucking Seungkwan. How come he forgot to put his name on the actor list. He said that this was just a small film sponsored by the school. He wasn’t supposed to be here!!!

The conversation inside was audible through the thin walls of the room. And despite the loud ringing in his ears, he managed to hear clearly what they were talking about. Seungkwan’s classmate was doing most of the talking, updating the other on the lives of people Mingyu knew nothing about. 

It wasn’t something that interested Mingyu but there was a small fire of curiosity in his chest that kept his feet locked in that same position. He wanted to see, wanted to know what the actor was like behind closed doors, so that maybe he can get a little bit idea why he did what he did. But Yoon Jeonghan responded with nothing but muted hums, saying nothing from his end. 

He was contemplating whether he should go because another minute that he was there was just increasing his chance of being discovered when finally, the conversation turned to something that made his heart stop for a moment. Seungkwan’s friend has turned the conversation around and was asking the actor how he was, more specifically in the context of his recent revelation on the red carpet.

“There’s a million articles about that already. You can just search up my answers there.”

Mingyu has read them of course. But it just never made complete sense. It felt so curated and phoney… Like it was answered in a way not to explain but to satisfy the public.

It seemed like his friend thought the same because he continued to question him.

“I just wanted to know what the fuss is all about. Things have been idle lately,” the actor finally replied after some prodding.

His friend laughed loudly. “You motherfucker. Only you would do this out of boredom. So, are you having fun?”

He took a little peek wanting to see his reaction. Yoon Jeonghan was completely immersed in reading the script and appeared not at all interested in the conversation. “A little...” he replied nonetheless.

“Any luck finding him?”

“No, not yet.” A tiny bit of a smile appeared on his face, one that somehow made Mingyu’s stomach turn. “Good for him. Poor little thing should hide himself better. I wonder what kind of hell he’ll experience once he meets me.”

The friend nodded like he fully understood what he meant. Like it was a such a perfectly normal thing for Yoon Jeonghan to say.

_Run._ It seemed like the perfect signal to fucking get out of there. But the urge to listen more was eating him up. So he stood there dumbly, waiting for more. But as if the gods had agreed to conspire against him because of his stupidity, Yoon Jeonghan looked up from reading his script and met his eyes.

His eyes briefly lit up in recognition and Mingyu felt his breath get caught up in his throat. “Is my chicken here?” he asked.

“Ah, yes,” he managed to say. He walked closer as casually as he could and placed the food on the coffee table. As he did so, he sneaked in a glance at the actor. He was close enough to see and he couldn't help but notice how different he was in real life. He was good-looking, immensely so. But the impression he gave off was too different than seeing him on screen. When he saw pictures of him, he always noticed a slight twinkle in his eyes--always had that hint of a smile playing on his face. But looking at him at that moment, none of the warmth or any indication of liveliness was present in him.

His hair was shorter now too.

His staring was interrupted when Yoon Jeonghan looked up to meet his gaze. He bowed hurriedly and nodded. "Enjoy your food, good sirs," saluting before turning around quickly again.

“Wait, I have a question regarding the script.”

Mingyu turned around again nervously, heart beating fast. "Sorry, but I know nothing,” he squeaked out.

Yoon Jeonghan tilted his head at him, stared at him with an unamused expression as if he’s a teacher and Mingyu just recited a wrong answer. Okay. Maybe this was what Seungkwan meant when he said people will like him better when he say nothing at all.

Mingyu had no choice so he closed the distance between them and stood dumbly by Yoon Jeonghan’s side. The other has both of his legs propped up on the coffee table, his focus completely on the script again as he sipped on his overpriced coffee. Seeing him unbothered like that made bitter taste flood his mouth. The things he said earlier about his soulmate were still fresh in his mind and it just solidified his impression that he was just another privileged celebrity who's way out of touch on the realities of life. Isn’t he just someone who does as he pleases?

“Can you see if I got the correct copy script?” 

“Alright, I’m gonna ask the director,” he replied, taking the file from his grasp.

He was ready to bolt out of the room when Yoon Jeonghan stopped him again. 

“Put the chicken on a plate before you go. The plates are on the sink.”

_Right. Yes._ Mingyu can’t help but nod to himself. _What a lazy ass._

Mingyu did what was asked of him. He got a plate and placed it on the coffee table. He took out the foil covered chicken out of the box but he wasn’t informed that the food in the box was just 40 percent drumstick and 60 percent sauce. 

That was his first mistake.

The sauce spilled unapologetically through the tiny spaces of the foil onto the table, the thick orange fluid rapidly flooding the table. He was surprised, his limbs immediately disconnecting from his consciousness. The only thing he was able to do was watch the puddle form trails, flowing and flowing, until it finally reached the hem of Yoon Jeonghan’s pristine white trousers.

He heard a yelp the same time he saw the sauce sufficiently soak the cloth and touch the actor’s skin. It was all he needed to get out of his frozen state and fully comprehend what was happening.

He quickly pulled some tissues at the side and in his panic, grabbed Yoon Jeonghan by his calf and dabbed the tissue to wipe off the sauce that has reached his skin.

That was his mistake number two… Because, apparently, he was not allowed to touch someone like him.

The force with which the actor pulled his leg from his grip was enough to set him tumbling over his feet. He was completely taken aback. He put his hands up in front of his chest as if he was in surrender. "I’m sorry!"

He repeated it again and again, watching as the other pulled his legs completely into his body as if Mingyu's touch just burned him. Seeing him fold like that almost made him laugh but seeing the expression on his face completely stopped him.

The frown etched onto his face felt like the first real emotion he saw since he saw him. On his side, he saw his friend stood up. “I’m going to get some towels!” he said with so much vigor as if he too just realized how serious this was.

Guilt immediately flooded Mingyu as he watched the other rub his ankle. _Was he hurt?_

He went closer to him, trying to remember if the sauce was hot enough to burn. He crouched down, wanting to see. He attempted to touch him again but the other just grabbed his wrist and locked his eyes into an intense stare down.

_“Who are you?”_

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys!
> 
> I'm linking my ko-fi :> https://ko-fi.com/whutjusthappend 
> 
> med school's kinda expensive :<


End file.
